Tuesday, January 25, 2011

MOBY-DICK, Page 544

Title: "For when three days flow together in one continuous intense pursuit; be sure the first is the morning, the second the noon, and the third the evening and the end of that thing - be that end what it may."

He really does Buck, especially here in the final chapters. At the beginning of this project, I tended to identify the most with Queequeg. Or, at least, I tended to idealize Queequeg the most since he is kind of an ideal human being. As time went by and the novel, and the illustrations, grew darker, my sense of isolation and obsession increased. I began to identify with Ahab more. But here, near the end of all things, it is Starbuck who I truly empathize with. He is s conflicted, so torn by his sense of obedience to God and captain and his genuine desire to help save this man that he loves almost as a father. His lines here during the chase are absolutely heartbreaking.